The Enforcement Directorate has conducted a major raid in Meghalaya. This raid took place regarding Rs 28.66 crore sanctioned for development works. It is alleged that instead of being spent on development works, the money has gone into the pockets of politicians and contractors. For the first time, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken such a major action and raided 5 locations simultaneously in Tura city of West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya. This raid is related to the investigation of alleged misappropriation and scam of funds of Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC).
The people whose locations have been searched by ED include Boston Marak, Ismail Marak, Kubon Sangma and Nikseng Sangma. Everyone is accused of misusing crores of rupees released in the name of development works.
Investigation has revealed that Rs 28.66 crore was sanctioned for development in Asanang assembly constituency of GHADC, but instead of being spent on projects, this money allegedly went into the pockets of politicians and contractors.
Initial investigation by ED revealed that 60 percent of the total fund was illegally given in advance to contractors Kubon Sangma and Nikseng Sangma. This release was against the rules and a huge amount was transferred without any work. This entire game happened at the behest of Ismail, on whose instructions many checks were issued in the name of contractors.
According to the information received by ED, Kubon Sangma withdrew the entire money from the bank and handed it over to Ismail Marak, while Nikseng Sangma transferred his stake directly to the account where he was asked to send it. That means the entire cycle of government money ran only on paper. Real development work was not done on the ground. Investigation and raids are still going on.